Dana Delany
Why did Marisa Tomei decide to never marry? Was it really her decision? What made Kristin Davis stay single her whole life? Did Susan Boyle want to marry but couldn’t? Take a look at the complete list of incredibly famous women who never got married and discover why. Not all women, famous or not, choose to get married, and this may happen for a variety of reasons. There are those who choose to live with their partners for the long term without marrying them.
Some women can not or don’t want to find a suitable partner who they want to spend the rest of their lives with. Perhaps it is because they are yearning for a lost love and are unable to find the spark they had with a new person as they did with the one they termed in their minds to be “the one.” Or, maybe they just never found the one ever, having kissed too many frogs and not seeing any one of them turn into a prince. More women still completely reject the entire idea and institution of marriage, calling it an antiquated form of subjugation which was only to be used in order to make noble people more powerful. Since most of the Western world no longer has noble people, a growing number view marriage as a useless relic of the past. There are many famous women who choose to not marry and they are living lives which we can only dream about. Due to all of these reasons and more, these single ladies are living or have lived their lives in a full and happy manner without needing a man by their side. We should be inspired by these famous women who decided that they wanted to remain single and welcome their decision with open arms.
In 2006, Dana Delany opened up to the press and confided her thoughts about marriage in them – “I turned 50 and I’m ready to get married. I don’t know who he is yet but I’m ready. He has to be smart, funny and kind.
Monica Lewinsky
Marriage has never been a big deal for me. But I think I’m ready now. I got to have all the fun in the world, to experience a lot of people and figure out what I really like.” The Desperate Housewives star has no high-profile affairs on her resume and keeps her private life to herself.
Perhaps best known for her special relationship with President Clinton, Monica Lewinsky has yet to get married. While she does date, she has found it hard to maintain a stable, long lasting relationship.
Kimberly Stewart
She also finds it difficult to find a steady job, travelling all over the United States looking for work. Lewinsky does do a lot of volunteer work however, and is a huge advocate against the phenomenon of cyberbullying.
Kimberly Stewart is still an unmarried woman, despite the child she shared with Benecio Del Toro via a one night stand in 2011. Following the birth of her daughter, Delilah, Kim did admit to wanting to change her lifestyle pattern and settle down; “I’m going into that next stage in my life of being really grown-up.
Anna Kournikova
I know what I want now. A nice husband, good career, and babies.”
It’s hard to believe that no one has scooped up tennis star and Russian model, Anna Kournikova. We know she was with Enrique Iglesias for a million years (actually, maybe they’re still together?) but surely he would have wanted to “lock her down” at some point. Since 2013, the couple whom we just can’t seem to keep up with dodged marriage rumors and Enrique confirmed,”I’ve never really thought marriage would make a difference.
Naomi Watts
Maybe it’s because I come from divorced parents, but I don’t think you love someone more because of a piece of paper. And nowadays it’s not taboo to have kids and not be married. What makes a difference is that you’re a good parent.”
Naomi Watts is known for having 2 high-profile relationships with 2 very longed-for men – Heath Ledger and Liev Schriber. Sadly, after 11 years together, Liev and Naomi called it quits after being temporarily engaged; “We’re engaged but not planning on marriage. We have the semblance of a marriage.” After falling victim to public scrutiny during their relationship, Naomi explained, “We’re very much together.
Vanessa Paradis
We just don’t have that certificate, and that’s okay with both of us. Maybe one day, we’ll just wake up and go ‘Hey, let’s do this.’ And maybe not.” The actress still isn’t against the idea of marriage with someone else.
Vanessa Paradis may have been partnered up with Johnny Depp for about 15 years but like a few other golden couples we know, they chose never to tie the knot. The French songstress told The Sunday Times in 2004, “We’ve never said we don’t want to get married, but we’re neither opposed to it nor excited about it. You know, we might do it for the kids one day.
Mindy Kaling
But we are more than married: we have two children. It’s not like we need to.”
Mindy Kaling is a perfectionist when it comes to making fun of relationships and dating. She’s a self-professed, former wannabe-bride but her tune has changed since she matured. Kaling says, “In my 20s, I was not only boy crazy, but marriage and relationship crazy.
Queen Latifah
Now it’s almost the opposite. My work is so rewarding and I’m so self-centered about it that I’m kind of excited about not having to go home and ask someone about their day.”
Queen Latifah has kept us all guessing for years on what the status of her love life was and currently is. The Chicago actress has never been married and never led anyone to believe that she wanted to. Recently, she split with her longtime girlfriend, Eboni Nichols. She plans to get married only when she finds the right partner and bought herself 2 weddings to prove it; “I bought two wedding bands and I said, ‘You know what?
Anita Hill
Somebody’s gonna have to take this ring off my finger and really earn that spot as my mate. They’re not just gonna get it. You gotta deserve it. I’ll treat myself like a Queen until then.”
Anita Hill, the woman known for opposing Clarence Thomas in a court of law, has also never been married. Today, she’s 60 years old and prefers to keep the more intimate details of her personal life completely private. Hill has said, however, about her longtime boyfriend, “We’re both committed, and we’re happy.
Greta Garbo
We’re together every day of the year, but we each have our own home. I don’t have anything against marriage; I haven’t decided not to do it. I just haven’t decided to do it.”
In 1955, film legend Greta Garbo told TIME Magazine, “If I could find the right person to share my life with, I would. If you are blessed, you are blessed, whether you are single or married.” The screen star was close to getting married once; in 1927, she left her former co-star and longtime love, Jack Gilbert, at the altar on their wedding day.
Diane Keaton
Garbo wasn’t the warmest person towards those she wasn’t acquainted with and for many years, a rumored relationship between she Mimi Pollak was often discussed.
Diane Keaton isn’t opposed to the idea of marriage but she never had her heart set on it, either. At 69, Keaton has said, “I’m attracted to men, and I love playing around with them. But a life shared together? That’s a different world.
Coco Chanel
I think you have to be somebody who can compromise and be realistic. I could never do it. Ever.” While she’s upfront about Al Pacino being “the one who got away,” she has plenty of other hot affairs to reminisce over; Warren Beaty, Jack Nicholson, and Keanu Reeves, just to make our point.
Coco Chanel had some high-profile affairs during the peak of her career but as for marriage, the famous fashion designer once said, “I never wanted to weigh more heavily on a man than a bird.” Coco Chanel was a child orphan who had to grow up and learn the importance of not just resilience, but independence.
Oprah Winfrey
She never came close to marriage but is suspected of mothering a child, her nephew André Palasse, that was raised by her sister.
Oprah Winfrey has been with Stedman Graham for over 30 years and so far, they still have no plans to be married. In 2013, Oprah told ITV, “I’m not a traditional woman and I haven’t had a traditional life, and I think that had Stedman and I gotten married, we certainly wouldn’t have stayed married. If you were to ask him, he would say the same thing. He’s a pretty traditional man.
Jacqueline Bisset
I’ve taught him to be non-traditional. But the very idea of what it means to be a wife and the responsibility and sacrifice that carries. I wouldn’t have held that very well.”
Jacqueline Bisset never settled down even though, we’re sure her most comitted suitors tried to sway her otherwise. Bisset told the dailymail in 2014 that she’s “too independent” for marriage and explained her #1 deal breaker whenever it was time to discuss coommittment in a relationship; “I’ve been in seven-year relationships three times and one 14-year relationship. It’s funny how it’s always seven.
Sarah Silverman
Sometimes you get too much information when you spend time with people. You start to see things, bad habits. You start to discover them and then you have to marry bad habits and I’m not sure I can cope with them.”
Sarah Silverman is typically praised for her unconventional, yet strangely amusing, opinions. When it comes to marriage, the comedienne claims, “I’m not against marriage, but it’s just not for me. I’m a vegetarian, but I don’t have a problem if you want a hamburger.
Winona Ryder
Marriage, to me, is like eating meat. I think it’s gross and crazy. If you’re getting married today, it’s the equivalent of joining a country club that doesn’t allow blacks or Jews.” In the past, Sarah seriously dated Jimmy Kimmel and today, she’s dating Michael Sheen.
Winona Ryder has dated some of the biggest men in Hollywood; Matt Damon, Keanu Reeves, Val Kilmer, and Chris Noth to name a few. She was also engaged to Johnny Depp in the 90’s but as we all know, that wedding never happened. When it comes to settling down, Wynona isn’t sure if an unsure future is worth the risk. She told ET in 2016, “I’d rather never have been married than been divorced a few times.
Goldie Hawn
Not that there’s anything wrong with divorce, but I don’t think I could do it if that was a possibility. When your parents are madly in love for 45 years, your standards are really high. But I’ve been happily with someone for quite a while now.”
Goldie Hawn has been one-half of the perhaps, the most famous longterm relationship in Hollywood. After 30 years, Goldie and Kurt Russell have 4 children together but no legal document that certifies them as husband and wife. Goldie and Kurt both have no desire to get married and quite frankly, don’t see the point. The blonde bombshell told CBS in 2012, “The question is, ‘Why get married?’ it’s not, ‘Why not?
Kylie Minogue
We love each other. We fight the way people are supposed to fight. We love our lives together.”
Kylie Minogue isn’t looking to settle down anytime soon or like, ever, for that matter. The pop star would love to have children someday but as she told the Sunday Times Style, “Marriage would be lower on my list.
Mary-Louise Parker
I need to know I can step outside this room, I won’t, but I do need to know that mentally I have space and freedom. Others would want to know they had those strong foundations, but I’m just a different make-up I guess.” For a short while, it looked like Kylie was going to transform into the marrying kind but in 2017, she broke off her engagement to Joshua Sasse and returned to singledom.
Mary-Louise Parker experienced one of the most painful types of heartbreak a woman could ever be subjected to; when she was 7 months pregnant with their child, Billy Crudup left her for Claire Danes. In 2015, the Weeds actress told the New York Times, “Maybe a psychiatrist would say I’m not married now because I have some sort of father thing.
Condoleezza Rice
But you know what? That would be the least of my problems.” For the time being, Mary-Louise is completely content raising her children and being a single, independent lady.
Condoleeza Rice, the former Secretary of State to George W. Bush, has never been married. During the 70’s, she was engaged to Denver Broncos wide receiver Rick Upchurch but the relationship ended before they walked down the aisle.
Lauren Graham
Since then, Condi’s private life has been cause for speculation. In 2013, the former Security Advisor told CBS This Morning, “I never found anybody I wanted to live with.”
On the rarest of occasions, life tends to imitate art. Lauren Graham, also known as the coolest TV mom in the world, has never been married much like her on-screen counterpart, Lorelai Gilmore. In 2014, Ellen DeGeneres asked Graham whether or not a wedding would be in the works between her and her longtime boyfriend and Parenthood co-star, Peter Krause. Lauren told Ellen, “I don’t know!
Sheryl Crow
We are really happy. I feel like close to five years in Hollywood, it’s like, aren’t we married already really? It’s good the way it is.”
Sheryl Crow, an unofficial national treasure, has never been married, either. She’s famously dated Owen Wilson and Eric Clapton but it was her engagement to Lance Armstrong that consistently made headline news. The country starlet told E News in 2014, “Hey, I would love to get married – I’m still old-fashioned.
Lauryn Hill
But I don’t think marriage is the be-all and end-all. It’s better to have three broken engagements than three divorces.”
Lauryn Hill has 6 children; 5 of them with the son of Bob Marley, Rohan, and 1 with an unknown man. Lauryn and Rohan were together for 15 years before separating in 2011 when Lauryn was pregnant with another man’s baby.
Kourtney Kardashian
The couple never married and Lauryn doesn’t plan on ever doing so. According to Rohan, Lauryn was “never ready to walk down the aisle.” The Doo Wop singer was recently released from a 3-month stint in jail serving on tax evasion charges.
Out of the entire Kardashian Klan, we’d expect Kourtney to be the most wholesome and traditional. The mother of 3 was in an on again-off again relationship with Scott Disick for 10 years and the pair never tied the knot. When Cosmopolitan questioned her reasons for never walking down the aisle, she stated “Scott and I have talked about it many times over the years.
Robin Roberts
The situation was never right. But I don’t think we would’ve done a big wedding” It’s unclear whether Kourtney and Scott are back together… again.
Robin Roberts is a symbol for resilience and strength for almost every viewer that tunes into Good Morning America. The new anchor, however, has never been married and doesn’t necessarily feel that she needs to.
Edie Falco
Roberts has been with partner Amber Laign for 14 years and the couple still lives in separate households. In 2014, the National Inquirer reported that Robin and Amber planned on getting married over the holiday season but as it turns out, the wedding rumor was just that – a rumor.
Edie Falco was the ultimate mob wife as Carmela Soprano on HBO’s hit drama, The Sopranos, but chose to remain single off-screen. Edie told the Daily Beast in 2010 what her thoughts on marriage actually are; “I’m sure my parents’ divorces did affect me in some way, but also in my life, in general, I don’t see a lot of marriages that look appealing to me. Because I’m not married I tend to get a lot of eye-rolling conversations with people about their marriages.
Allison Janney
Why would I want to head there? I want love in my life, no question about that. But I have a ton of it.” Edie has 2 adopted daughters.
Allison Janney held nothing back when she spoke to E! Magazine in 2014 regarding her thoughts on marriage. She proudly exclaimed, “I want to be a player!
Tyra Banks
I’m still single! I want to feel sexy and young and pretty for as long as I can.” One year later, she did slightly pull back on her previous statement – “I am single and dating, but I’d love to find someone to travel the world with and hang out on a regular basis.” Us too, Allison. Us, too.
We can’t help but think that Tyra Banks has never been married because, well, she’s just a goddess that can’t find anyone on her level.
Shonda Rhimes
The supermodel told Wendy Williams during a guest visit on her daytime show, “You don’t have to have a ring on your finger to say I love you.” Tyra has one child, York Banks Asla, with her longtime partner Erik Asla.
Shonda Rhimes isn’t your average television producer. She’s been responsible for groundbreaking hits like Grey’s Anatomy, How To Get Away With Murder, and Scandal. Rhimes has 3 children but refuses to ever tie the knot. In 2015, she told Oprah, “I don’t want to get married.
Joan Jett
At all. Because I could not have the life that I’ve created for myself. I couldn’t do it.”
Joan Jett is the epitome of rock’n’roll. She’s had countless, literally countless, high-profile relationships with rockstars and celebrities alike – Billy Idol, Dee Dee Ramone, Cherie Currie, John Lydon, Stephanie Adams, and even Danny Bonaduce. Joan has never been married and rarely opens up about her personal affairs.
Helena Bonham Carter
She’s never been shy when it came to opposing female expectations, though; “I figured out it was a social thing, what women were allowed to do. At a very young age, I decided I was not going to follow women’s rules.”
In 2015, Helena Bonham Carter split from her partner of 13 years, Tim Burton. They had two children together, Billy and Nell, and infamously derailed themselves from the traditional marriage path.
Miranda Richardson
For Helena, she doesn’t intend on marrying or even dating for a while – “I feel very self-sufficient at the moment. I’m just going to work out who I am on my own and it’s quite liberating.” In all honesty, we kind of wish they were still together; married or not!
Miranda Richardson doesn’t settle for second best. The Sleep Hollow actress will only get married when she meets her legitimate Mr. Right. She expressed to the dailymail in 2009, “I think marriage would be quite good for me, but I’m not going to just go out and hire someone.
Harper Lee
I think, intermittently, that you find Mr. Right, but you have to get lucky. I don’t rule out having a family – it just hasn’t happened for me yet.”
To Kill A Mockingbird’s famous author, Harper Lee, never married, nor had children, and lived a reclusive lifestyle until her death in 2016. The closest she ever got to finding love was with a literary agent, who didn’t reciprocate the crush and was married at the time of their friendship.
Dina Meyer
According to biographer Marja Mills, she “dated a little bit” but at the end of the day, Scout Finch will always be a lingering reminder of Harper Lee’s presumed personal journey, trying to discover her own identity.
Actress Dina Meyer is 48 years old and has yet to get married. Actually, it is hard to tell if she has even ever had a boyfriend or not.
Jane Austen
This former star of both Starship Troopers, Saw, and Beverly Hills, 90210 likes to keep her personal life private and away from the public eye. All we know is that this accomplished actress would be quite an awesome catch for anyone.
Pride and Prejudice author Jane Austen is perhaps one of the best known women who decided not to ever get married. Despite being an accomplished author (and slated to appear on the new British 10 Pound Sterling note in late 2017), she never married after meeting what many assume to be the love of her life, Tom Lefroy.
Jorja Fox
Apparently, none of Austen’s other suitors were able to compare to him.
She portrayed Secret Service agents in West Wing and has been an integral part of CSI for year, but Jorja Fox has yet to play the part of bride in her own wedding. She has seriously dated both men and women, but as of now does not seem to be in a relationship with anyone.
Elizabeth I of England
While there were rumors that she got married to Gary Dourdan, these rumors were proven to be unfounded.
Nicknamed “The Virgin Queen,” Queen Elizabeth I of England was the last of the Tudor royal family, having remained single her entire life. The reason for this was for the greater good of England however, as she would have had to marry a member of a royal family from some other country, thereby potentially destabilizing her kingdom.
Janet Napolitano
England was able to see four decades of stability due to her not getting married.
Janet Napolitano is quite accomplished – she was the United States Secretary of Homeland Security, Governor and Attorney General of Arizona, and currently sits as acting President of the University of California System. Despite people wondering whether or not she is into other women, it seems as if this strong and independent woman has just decided to focus on her career as opposed to love.
Susan B Anthony
After all, plenty of men do it, so why can’t she?
Most famous for being on one of America’s many dollar coins, Susan B Anthony spent her life fighting for social causes and justice for all. She was a huge advocate of the abolitionist movement against slavery as well as helping to get women the right to vote.
Mother Theresa
One of the first feminists, she argued for a day when men would not be the ones in control of marriage, and advocating giving women equal legal standing in a holy matrimony.
While world famous nun and Nobel Prize Winner Mother Theresa never married any man on earth, she was technically married to God. This is because it was part of her vows to never come into physical contact with a man.
Dare Wright
Mother Theresa helped thousands of destitute people in India and increased the numbers of church going Catholics in that country by the tens of thousands. She has since been beatified as a saint.
This world famous model and photographer was also quite the writer, having written a New York Times bestselling children’s book titled “The Lonely Doll.” She had a close personal relationship with her mother and her brother, but she always kept suitors at bay by saying that her great love was a pilot who got shot down over Korea.
Emily Bronte
She was never with a man either, and died alone in her apartment on Fifth Avenue in New York City.
Writing under the pen name Emily Bell, Emily Bronte was the middle child of the Bronte literary dynasty from Yorkshire in Northern England. She is most famous for her novel Wuthering Heights, a novel which has been deemed to be an English Language classic.
Chelsea Handler
However, she remained single for her entire life, with biographers describing her as a shy woman who mainly stayed at home. It was said that she made very few friends besides her family.
Chelsea Handler is unquestionably one of the funniest and most fierce women on television but at one point, she implied that marriage was synonymous (or correlated) with murder. She told People TV in 2016, “Never married. Never murdered.
Charlize Theron
Marriage PSA: You Can Say No.” She eventually changed her tune and later stated, “I realize now that you can be committed to someone without commercialization and all that nonsense. So now I’d get married.” That’s a wedding we’d die to attend, no pun intended.
It’s hard to believe that one of the most beautiful women in the world has never been married. Charlize Theron told Piers Morgan in 2011, “Marriage was never something that was important to me. I don’t know the exact reason for that.
Eva Mendes
I really want for myself a long-term relationship. I have been in a long-term relationship. The actual ceremony is not important to me, but I see the importance for other people.” The Academy Award winner has 2 children, through adoption; a daughter named August and a son named Jackson.
Sorry, Eva Mendes – we gotta be straight with you. If we had Ryan Gosling, we certainly lock that down without hesitation! The Latina beauty told Chelsea Handler in 2011, “I’m not like anti-marriage or the institution, like for other people.
Susan Boyle
I love the idea of a union but I think, it’s a very old-fashioned, archaic kind of thing. We did it for land originally. How unromantic is that?” Mendes does, however, have two daughters with her real-life ‘The Notebook’ hunk.
Before Susan Boyle became an internet (and television sensation) she was still that same independent woman who didn’t need any man! Today, she’s still perfectly content with her single lifestyle and has the ability to recognize the true loves of her life – her family, friends, and her cat (obviously).
Kristin Davis
Boyle stated in a recent interview, “I live by myself with my cat Pebbles but I have the support of all my brothers and sisters and my neighbors and friends.”
We have to admit, we have a hard time seeing Charlotte York shrug at the idea of marriage. But, in real life, actress Kristin Davis has her own reasons for staying single. She has an adopted daughter, Gemma Rose, and feel 100% fulfilled working as an animal rights activist.
Andrea Tantaros
In 2013, Kristin said to Haute Living that if she did get married, it would “be someone so awesome, I would bring him in and potentially share time with Gemma. I don’t know that I necessarily totally intended to still be single, though I do remember being young and thinking, ‘Why are all these people getting married?’ But I’m an actress. I’ve never exactly been the status quo.”
The 38-year-old political analyst might have written a book called Tied Up in Knots, but she never really tied the knot herself. The conservative host is mostly famous for co-hosting Fox’s Outnumbered and for being the original hosts on The Five.
Tantaros has actually filed a lawsuit agains the channel after she claimed that political commentator, Bill O’Reilly and others have made some inappropriate comments that shouldn’t have been made. The stunning host has reportedly dated musician, Dave Navarro, who was also famously married to Carmen Electra.